The Maiden Wolf & The Bastard Bull
by Kittenshift17
Summary: Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie are afoot, travelling for Winterfell after escaping the Gold Cloaks that killed Yoren. As they make there way, it become apparent that maybe there is a little more than travelling companionship between a pretty little Maiden Wolf and a Bastard Bull with bright blue eyes. GENDRYA!
1. Chapter 1

**The Maiden Wolf & The Bastard Bull**

**Chapter 1**

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><p>Gendry glanced at Arya Stark out the corner of his eye, wondering whether or not she was like to stab him. They'd scraped together enough coin relieved from the dead they came across to afford a room and a hot meal at the Rusty Mace Inn at the Neck. Hot Pie had fallen prey to one of the taverns wenches after Gendry had ignored her flirting and advances. Gendry himself had stayed long enough in the pub to allow Arya the chance to go up to the room they'd paid for so she could make use of a bath.<p>

When he'd finally grown impatient and returned to the room Gendry had stared like a fool at what he'd found inside. If he'd ever needed proof that Arya Stark was not the boy she masqueraded as, he'd found it when he'd stumbled to a stop in surprise to find her washed clean and still naked as a newborn babe, fast asleep in the bright copper tub. She'd slipped down in the water, her mouth below the water line and her nose awfully close to it.

In a panic, thinking she'd drown, Gendry had leapt into the action, trying not to notice the wiry wisp of a feminine form she'd been hiding beneath her tunic. When he'd woken her with a gentle shake she'd glared at him and actually blushed, telling him to get out so she could dress. He'd done as she asked.

Gendry glanced at her again. She wasn't looking at him. They'd only had enough coin to afford a room with one bed and she was currently curled up in it, facing the wall. She'd told him that if he wanted to sleep in the bed he had to wash and since she didn't want to leave the room just so that he could, she was faced away from him.

When the water was heated, Gendry glanced at her again. He could tell she was angry with him for having come in while she was still in the bath, though she'd been asleep and close to drowning. He could tell from the stiffness in her still form that she was uncomfortable staying in the room with him bathing behind her, but she didn't move.

Shrugging to himself and trying not to laugh at the maid of five-and-ten, Gendry stripped off his tunic and breeches before lowering himself into the warm water, surprised by how good it felt to immerse himself in the water. Spotting the soap Arya had discarded, Gendry figured he might as well bath properly and lathered himself up, taking special care to scrub at his hair and the stubble gracing his cheeks.

"Why are you even in here?" She suddenly demanded and Gendry turned to look at her again, surprised she'd spoken to him since she'd not done so after demanding he get out and to wash if he expected to sleep in the bed.

"What do you mean why am I here?" Gendry asked mildly before closing his eyes so he could scrub his grimy face and then submerge his whole head in the water. He heard her reply while his head was underwater.

"What'd ya say?" he asked, lifting his now clean and soap-free head out of the water to peer at her. He raised his eyebrows to find that she had rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows, glaring at him looking frustrated and annoyed.

"I said why were you bursting in here while I was naked instead of off with some whore like Hot Pie?" she demanded through gritted teeth. Gendry looked down at his lap. He could tell from her tone that she was mad that he'd seen her naked, but he'd known from her scowling, derogatory expression downstairs when the serving wench had been trying to flirt with him that she didn't like the idea of either of her friends off with a whore.

"Don't much like whores" Gendry replied, knowing it would infuriate her "Besides, if we were both off with whores, who'd watch over milady?"

Her glare was one of pure anger as she caught his words.

"She was flirting with you before she even looked at Hot Pie" Arya pointed out, "And yet here you are, irritating me and spying on me naked instead of off with her."

"What's your point?" he asked her, enjoying her irritation much more than usual.

"I'm not some pathetic girl in need of protection" she snarled at him.

"Who said you were?" Gendry asked her, having to look back at his lap to keep her from seeing his mirth.

"You just did when you said you were here to watch over a lady!" She growled.

"If I hadn't you probably would've drowned in this tub" Gendry pointed out "The tip of your nose was dipping in the water. Another inch and you'd have drowned and we woulda found you naked, dead and blue come morning."

She snarled in frustration at his reply, clearly less than pleased to know she actually had needed him protecting her, even if only from spiteful gods controlling her sleeping actions. He chuckled to himself, knowing that though she wouldn't admit it, she wanted to know why he'd ignored the serving wench's flirting. His little she-wolf might not like to acknowledge it, but Gendry had seen the flash of hatred and jealousy in her stormy grey eyes when that wench had brushed her hands over his arms, commenting that she'd not seen a man so strong and so handsome in a long time.

He wouldn't have put it past Arya to run the wench through with her little sword or even slit her throat with the eating knife she'd been given for the meal they'd ordered. Not when she'd looked so furious. He could feel her eyes on him now, as they had been downstairs when she'd curled her lip at him and Gendry had tried to keep from smirking then just as he did now.

A few moons ago, after Hot Pie had fallen asleep by their campfire, Gendry and Arya had stayed sitting up, mostly in silence. Gendry smiled to himself as he remembered the way he'd jumped when the wolves began to howl. He blushed as he remembered the way he'd turned to Arya, wide-eyed even as he'd shuffled close to the fire, not liking the idea of becoming any wolf's dinner.

"_That won't save you" she murmured to him, smirking at his reaction when he tried to tug her closer to the fire as well._

"_They sound close" he whispered to her, concerned that they'd be eaten._

"_They are close" she murmured before another howl, this one louder and closer than the first silenced them. Gendry watched the way the wild girl he'd been travelling with closed her eyes, as though savouring the sound of the wolf wailing to the moon. He'd felt a tingle of fascination as she dropped her head back, revealing her face in the firelight as her long hair fell away. It had been growing out for many moons now, and brushed her shoulders in dark, knotted waves._

_He was surprised to see such a sight. Arya rarely showed her whole face like that, preferring to keep her head downcast or her face partially masked by her hair so as to better pass as a boy. When he felt his breath catch in his throat Gendry wondered if it was from fear of the wolves or surprise at her growing beauty. She might've started out a slightly feminine looking boy when they left King's Landing with Yoren so long ago, but Arya Stark's true appearance was beginning to show through._

_He stared at her, with her beautiful face tipped towards the moon, eyes closed as she listened to the hungry sounding howl of the wolves in the surrounding woods. He could tell that rather than feeling afraid of them or concerned that she might be attacked, Arya enjoyed and even savoured the sound of the wolf howl and he remembered hearing from someone that the sigil of her house was the direwolf._

"_I've missed that sound" she whispered when the howl faded away in the night "There were no wolves to howl so far south… we must be getting close to being in the North again."_

"_Aren't you afraid? They might attack us" Gendry said._

_Arya chuckled softly. "They might" she agreed "Are you afraid Gendry?"_

_He stared at her, not willing to admit that he was but unable to lie to her and say no._

"_Do you see them?" she asked him a while later after they'd listened in silence to the howls in the night. Gendry felt a chill crawl up his spine, feeling eyes on him but not seeing anything beyond the glow of the fire._

"_See who?" He asked uncertainly, glancing over at her. He was surprised to see her on her feet._

"_The wolves" she replied and Gendry shuddered, squinting into the darkness but not seeing anything. He watched her move closer to him, taking his arms and tugging him a little closer to the fire, standing close to where Hot Pie was stretched out on the ground snoring._

_Still Gendry didn't see anything but he could tell from the way she eagerly watched the shadows and picked up her bow, knocking an arrow into it and holding it loose but ready, that she'd seen something in the shadows lurking. He almost jumped out of his skin when a wolf howled from the shadows close enough that if he threw a stone he'd probably hit the creature._

"_Don't be afraid" she whispered and Gendry realised suddenly that she was standing between him and the sound, backing him slowly closer to the fire. "They can smell fear. And whatever you do, don't wake Hot Pie. He'll probably try to throw a flaming stick at them to drive them off and set the whole forest on fire."_

"_I think we're surrounded" Gendry whispered back, stopping before he stepped right into the fire when another howl sounded from off to their left._

"_We are" Arya whispered "It's been too long since the pack has eaten and they've a taste for man-flesh from the battles around here lately."_

_Gendry shuddered at the way she said it so sinisterly. Before he could stop himself, Gendry looped an arm around her middle, jerking her back against him, closer to the fire._

"_What are you doing?" she demanded in surprise._

"_If you stand all the way out there away from the fire and they attack how am I going to protect you?" he asked in response, feeling her bristle against him._

"_I'm the one with the bow" she retorted._

"_Maybe, but if they attack a bow won't be much use in close quarters. That's why I have this" he said, drawing his hammer from his belt loop and hefting it where she could see him._

_She snorted at him._

"_Do you see them?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder to meet his gaze before nodding. "There, by that large rock, and there beneath that clump of salt bush."_

_Gendry felt fear clench at his insides with a cold, frigid hand when he squinted at the places she nodded to and found yellow eyes reflecting the firelight back at him._

"_We're going to die, aren't we?" he murmured to her even as a sound to their right drew her gaze, spinning quickly in his grip Arya turned towards the sound without answering him. Gendry turned too and he felt his heart begin to pound in horror and fear when he saw the beast stalking out of the undergrowth and into the open clearing where they'd set up camp for the night._

_It was a wolf, but it was bigger than he'd ever imagined a wolf could be. At least as tall as a smallish horse it's yellow eyes were fixed on the three of them, massive paws carrying it closer to them. Realising that they really were going to die, Gendry did the only thing he could think of in that moment._

_Using his free hand, he spun Arya Stark in his grip, ducked his head and pressed his lips to hers. She squawked in surprise though she didn't jerk away from him for a few seconds. He didn't know why he was doing it, other than that the thought had crossed his mind that he wasn't going to die without at least kissing a woman since there wasn't time for bedding one._

"_What was that?" she demanded when she pulled away to stare at him in shock, her brow wrinkled._

_Gendry shrugged "I don't know, goodbye? Given the way that beast is stalking closer I'd say we're going to die pretty soon."_

_She raised her eyebrows at him before turning away muttering "Stupid bull."_

_Gendry didn't understand how she could seem so calm with that beast coming towards them, or why she hadn't already started peppering it with arrows._

"_Nymeria?" She said in a strong voice and Gendry wondered if she'd lost her mind. He wondered if he'd lost his when the wolf gave a strange sort of yip before bounding towards them. He tightened his arms around the girl in his grip but she was too wiry and thin, too much a wisp as she slipped free of him, dropping her bow to the ground and rushing towards the wolf like a mad woman._

_He thought himself dreaming when he watched his friend wrap her arms around that massive killer, laughing and smiling._

"_Nymeria I thought I'd never see you again" he heard her murmur "You've grown so big, a true Northern Direwolf now."_

_He marvelled at the way she sounded like a proud mother._

"_Arya what are you doing?" he'd called, panicked "You're going to get yourself eaten."_

"_Don't be stupid" She'd told him, walking towards him now with her arm slung over the wolf while it's companions seemed to melt away into the night. Gendry eyed the wolf nervously._

"_What are you?" he'd asked her "Some kind of witch with an unnatural power over wolves?"_

"_What? Stop being stupid. This is Nymeria. My pet Direwolf. I raised her from a pup. When my father became Hand of the King I brought her south with me, but when we were near the Trident I was practicing swordplay with my friend Micah. Joffery and Sansa came along and Joffery was being awful. He hurt Micah and when I hit him with my wooden sword he hit me. Nymeria bit his arm a little and I threw his sword in the river so he couldn't cut Micah again. After that I had to run away and I knew that they'd kill Nymeria if they ever found her so I had to chase her off into the woods. They killed Lady, Sansa's wolf, instead when they couldn't find Nymeria. I felt bad for Sansa, but if she wasn't such a stupid idiot and hadn't lied for that awful Joffery, admitting he'd attacked us instead of saying she couldn't remember, Lady would still be alive."_

_Gendry stared at her, three quarters of her story utter gibberish since he didn't know the people she spoke of._

"_She's your pet?" he asked nervously when he watched the wolf eye Hot Pie's sleeping form "She looks like she's going to eat us."_

"_She's not going to eat you. I trained her not to."_

"_Then why have we been hearing stories of the massive pack fifty strong in this area led by a demon wolf so big it can kill a horse on it's own?"_

"_Well she had to survive after I chased her off" Ayra argued with him._

Gendry shook his head at the memory of the way the little human she-wolf glaring at him now had settled down by their fire with that wolf, cuddled up to it like it was a blanket instead of a man-eater. Curiosity had gotten the better of him eventually and Arya had smiled while she introduced him to the wolf. He'd marvelled at the feel of wolf fur still on a living wolf beneath his hand.

Eventually the howls of her pack had drawn the wolf away from her former mistress and Gendry had watched Arya for the longest time afterwards as she stared into the dark with a small smile on her pretty face. When he'd seen her shiver in spite of the way she was so close to the fire he knew she was missing the heat of the wolf pressed against her and had gently caught her arm, tugging her over to him until she was sitting between his bent up knees while he wrapped an arm around her middle, cuddling her close and sharing his heat with her.

As he glanced at her where she glared at him from the bed now, he couldn't help thinking again about how it had felt when he'd pressed his lips to hers in a kiss. She'd never mentioned it, or rebuked him whenever he tugged her close for warmth when Hot Pie was asleep. Gendry wondered if that was why she'd scowled when that wench had begun flirting with him; because she maybe had the same tingling feeling inside her whenever he pulled her close or thought of how he'd kissed her that time. He glanced at the Direwolf curled up in the corner of the room too. Nymeria was asleep for now.

"If you keep starin' at me you're gonna get an eyeful" Gendry told Arya, rather than letting her know his thoughts. When she kept glaring, much more fiercely now, Gendry shrugged and lifted himself out of the bath, reaching for the damp drying cloth she'd hung over a stool by the fireplace.

He chuckled again when he looked at her and realised she'd rolled away from him, cursing under her breath. He caught the words 'stupid' 'bull-headed' and 'idiot' and tried not to laugh at her bad mood. He could tell she was still mad that he hadn't given her a reason that satisfied her about why he was in the rented room with her rather than off with a serving wench like Hot Pie was.

She would never push the issue, since she wouldn't want to admit anything to him, but Gendry could guess that the kiss they'd shared moons ago might be muddling her thoughts the way it so often did his. Drying himself and dressing quickly in the hopes of keeping the seeping cool of the room at bay in spite of the hot fire and the hot bath he'd just climbed out of, Gendry glanced down at himself. He'd donned his britches and his undershirt, but didn't much fancy the idea of pulling on his soiled, heavy tunic to climb into a clean bed.

When he looked at Arya, wondering how she would react to him doing so, his eyes fell upon something that made him gulp audibly. Laid over a chair by the bed was not only Arya's tunic and heavy cloak, but also her britches.

"Arya…." He said slowly, glancing between the britches on the chair and the girl curled up in the bed.

"What?" she said without looking at him.

"Tell me you're not in that bed naked" he replied seriously staring at her.

"Naked? What is wrong with you?" she said, turning to glare at him again. Gendry nodded to her clothing.

"I wasn't going to put those on to get into a real bed" she said wrinkling her nose "They're filthy."

"Then what are you wearing" he demanded, feeling that strange tingle rush through him again and not liking the way it was affecting his body.

"My underthings" she replied, rolling her eyes "It's too cold for sleeping naked, soiled clothing or not."

Gendry stared at her for a long moment before glancing over at the door. He'd bolted it while he was bathing.

"Should I unbolt it… in case Hot Pie comes back?" he asked her.

Arya shrugged "There's no way all three of us would fit in this bed given the size he is and how bloody wide your shoulders are. But I suppose you'd better otherwise he'll have to sleep in the cold hallway rather than the floor or the chair."

Nodding, Gendry crossed the room, unbolting the door so that Hot Pie would be able to get in if he returned before morning, which Gendry suspected was unlikely given the bosom on the serving wench he'd gone off with. When he returned to the bed, he rolled his eyes to see Arya was lying right in the middle.

"You going to move over?" he asked her, lifting the covers so she'd lose all the heat if she didn't.

"Put the cover down it's cold." She complained, rolling to make enough room for him. Gendry folded himself into the bed beside her, feeling strange to actually be inside and sharing a bed with anyone. The last time he'd slept inside in an actual bed had been in his master's shop in King's Landing and he'd never shared it with anyone.

"You're shivering" he told Arya when he felt the minute vibrations coming from her and he glanced at her in the dim firelight, seeing that her teeth were chattering too. "That bath water was cold when I woke you, you must be freezing."

She was shivering too much and clenching her jaw too hard as she tried to keep her teeth from chattering to reply. Gendry sighed before he reached out, dragging her closer beneath the bedcovers until he was spooned up behind her. He grit his teeth against the familiar twitch his cock gave to have this particular girl so close. He almost groaned when he realised that she might've donned what she called underthings, but might as well have just been rags. Her undershirt was flimsy and light, and he had no doubt that it was probably see-through too. He didn't even want to know what she classed as 'underthings' for her lower half since he suspected that she actually wore nothing, wearing her undershirt loose and long enough to hide her body but not much else.

"Underthings, my butt" he growled in her ear, feeling the way she stilled at his words even as she began to warm up immediately.

"I lost the other underthings mother used to make me wear under my dress-skirts" she told him "They were uncomfortable and awful."

Gendry snorted "You really aren't a lady, are you? High-born, but no lady."

"I've been telling you that for moons" she whispered back before adding "You never answered my question."

"Which one? You ask a lot of them" he replied, amused by her. She snarled at him like that pet wolf of hers.

"About why you're here and not off with a whore like Hot Pie" she said.

"I answered ya. You just didn't like my answer about you needing to be saved from drowning yourself by accident."

"Until you came in you didn't know I needed saving" she argued and Gendry smiled knowing that was as close as she would ever get to admitting she needed help or to thanking him for it.

"Told ya I don't like whores" he said and he knew she wanted more of an explanation but was too stubborn to ask for one. He let her stew for a while before he elaborated.

"Speaking as a bastard, it's not much of a life. Havin' highborns look down on ya, havin' other lowborns call ya bastard. I'm not interested in making any more bastards to be treated like shit, not with this war on and not with winter coming."

He felt her relax in his arms just the tiniest bit at that and Gendry smiled into her hair.

"You actually smell like a lady now" he told her a little while later, knowing she was still awake in his hold in spite of how tired she was. She elbowed him in the ribs.

"Shut up. At least I don't smell like a sewer anymore, and you're the one who smells like flowers, not me." She replied curtly.

Gendry chuckled "You're the one who bought the flowery smellin' soap."

"How am I supposed to sleep with you bellowing like a bull when you laugh like that?" she asked him nastily and Gendry could tell she was trying not to laugh with him.

"How am I supposed to sleep with you wriggling like a damn worm?" he shot back.

"I'm not wriggling" she protested.

"Besides" Gendry continued as though she'd not spoken "If you sleep you'll snore like a stag with the sniffles again and then I'll have to lay awake listening to it all bloody night."

"Really? You're going to complain about _me_ snoring? When you sleep it's like being in a pigpen, what with all that grunting and snuffling and grumbling."

"Never stopped you sleeping before" Gendry pointed out.

"How would you know? You were asleep while I was kept awake plotting the best way to kill you."

"You wouldn't kill me" he murmured into her ear, wondering at the way he felt all the little hairs on her arms and neck stand on end as though she was cold even though he knew she was now toasty warm.

"Why not?" she demanded indignantly, sounding very much like she'd considered it a time or two.

"For the same reason I'm here and not off with some whore or serving wench" he told her, feeling her stiffen "You'd freeze in your sleep without me."

Arya elbowed him again, but Gendry could swear he saw her smile and blush a little at his words.

"If I ever get to sleep you mean."

"You're the one who keeps talking" Gendry told her.

"I hate you."

"Liar" Gendry chuckled, tugging her a little closer and more snugly against himself when he felt and heard her yawn. "Get some sleep. I promise not to snore at you."

"Now who's the liar?" she murmured slowly and Gendry smiled as he felt her body relax as her breaths evened out and she slipped off to sleep. Closing his eyes, he tried not to notice the scent of her hair and skin. It was one that reminded him of soil after it rained, only it was a colder scent, making him think that maybe she smelled like snow.

As he felt sleep come for him, he smiled softly at the idea that he might've been born a lowly bastard but he must be lucky. How else could he be cuddled up to a highborn wolf-girl in a featherbed at an Inn far from judgemental eyes and without even a hint that he'd ever be killed for it?

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><p>Sometime later, Gendry jolted awake at the feel of someone touching him and he reached for the knife Arya had stashed under the pillow he slept on, feeling her still curled up inside his arms, warm and safe.<p>

"Move over" a familiar voice said and Gendry glanced over his shoulder to see the large, swaying form of a drunk and cheery looking Hot Pie.

"Stoke the fire" Gendry told him, instead when he looked past the fat boy to see that the fire had died down. "There's wood in the box."

Hot Pie grumbled a little as he staggered over, but he did as Gendry asked him while Gendry tried to work out how they were all going to fit in the bed. Arya was just a wisp and pressed so close took up next to no room at all. Reluctantly releasing her, Gendry rolled her onto her back, listening to the way she made soft growling sounds in her sleep like a wolf. He pushed her all the way to the far edge of the bed against the wall, shuffling over as far as he could next to her on his back before lifting her easily so that she was laid out of top of him, her cheek against his chest and her stomach pressed to his.

Hot Pie climbed into the space he'd made, while Gendry shuffled his body further across, filling the space Arya had vacated when he'd pulled her onto his chest.

"You and her, huh?" Hot Pie said a few minutes later when all three of them were settled while Gendry felt Arya snuggling her face against his chest, trying to get comfortable even though she still slept soundly. Gendry froze at his words, glancing sideways at the boy beside him. He must not be as drunk as Gendry had thought because Hot Pie stared back at him, nodding a little.

"I know she's lying about bein' a boy" he said "And that you know it too, else you wouldn't have her stretched out on top of you like that."

"How long have you known she's a girl?" Gendry asked him. Hot Pie shrugged.

"I thought maybe, for a while that she was lying. She's getting too pretty to pretend she's a boy, even when she keeps her head down or hides in her hair. But when you told that wench to shove off downstairs I knew for sure."

"We're not… I mean… There's not… I mean, it's not like _that_" Gendry said, realising that Hot Pie thought he was fucking her, that he'd been in here fucking her while Hot Pie had been off fucking the serving wench.

"Looks like it's like _that"_ Hot Pie replied, nodding at the sleeping girl still snuffling on his chest, rubbing her cheek against him before pressing her cold nose into the side of his neck.

"Well it's not. She's just tiny and this bed's not big enough for three."

"Then why ain't she wearin' pants?" Hot Pie asked him, nodding in the now glowing firelight to the breeches Arya had left draped over the chair.

"I dunno, she said she didn't want to sleep in them. She's not naked… look" he, said lifting the covers enough to show Hot Pie the shirt she still wore and that he was clothed too.

Hot Pie didn't say anything else, but Gendry could tell that the boy didn't believe there wasn't anything going on between him and Arya.

When Hot Pie began to snore softly, Gendry lay there awake, still holding Arya against him, his hands pressed to the small of her back to keep her from rolling off him; he chewed on his bottom lip, wondering if maybe the reason Hot Pie didn't believe there was nothing between Gendry and Arya was because, well, maybe there was.

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><p><strong>AN: I know, I know. Another one! But I've been secretly storing them all up for y'all (My avid TtT readers, these stories are the reasons I've been so slack and not posted on TtT in almost a year, so I hope they in some way make up for it.) This is just a short story, but the next chapter will be up soon, I promise. Hope you like it. Review and let me know what you think so far! Much love! xx-Kitten.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

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><p>Arya groaned when she woke to the sound of Nymeria scratching to get out. Blinking blearily as she tried to get her bearings, she growled under her breath. She'd been dreaming of Winterfell and the familiar sound of the wolf wanting to be let out waking her was one that reminded her of home and her chambers. It took her longer than it should have to remember that she was in a room at an Inn and that she was a long way from Winterfell.<p>

As she lifted her head, she realised that she was incredibly warm and that there was a dull ache in her chest that usually came from sleeping on her front on the cold hard ground. She blinked when she realised she was nowhere near the hard ground as she stared into the handsome sleeping face of Gendry. Stretched out on his back, still sound asleep, Gendry held her cuddled close and Arya wondered what in seven hells was going on.

It was a rare occurrence that she would fall asleep cuddled up with Gendry by the fire for warmth, and rarer still that she would wake still held by him. In those instances too, she usually woke lying on her side with him wrapped around behind her. Staring at his face she wondered how he could possibly have slept comfortably like this, and when it was during the night that she'd climbed on top of him and fallen asleep.

Cradled against his chest with her body resting along the length of his, she'd actually slept that way.

Nymeria scratched at the door again before whining at her, glancing over at Arya. Arya nodded to the wolf.

"Alright, alright I'm coming" she told the wolf in a soft voice, not wanting to wake Gendry and have him realise she'd climbed on top of him in her sleep. As she went to roll off him, Arya froze, spotting Hot Pie stretched out and taking up the rest of the bed space not filled by Gendry. Cursing under her breath as she realised there was no way to just roll off Gendry, Arya tried not to panic.

The only solution she could see was for her to straddle him like she would a horse and then stand. She was reluctant to do it since the only time she'd ever seen a woman straddle a man that way it was because they were fucking. She also didn't much like the idea of standing up with him lying beneath her since she wasn't wearing any britches and he would be able to see straight up her undershirt. He'd seen her naked in the tub last night and that had been bad enough, to get a look from the angle he would if she stood over him would be mortifying.

Nymeria scratched again indignantly and Arya groaned when the wolf came over, clambering up on the end of the bed and taking Arya's foot in her muzzle shaking her gently as though to wake the girl.

"Nymeria" Arya whispered admonishing, tugging her foot out of the wolf's reach and glancing at both boys to make sure they hadn't woke. Gritting her teeth Arya pressed her hands to the bed either side of Gendry's broad chest which she'd been using for a pillow, and levered herself up wriggling until her legs were straddling him. She froze when she felt something particularly hard and hot poking her through his britches and Arya blushed like the maid she was. Nymeria yipped when Arya stopped moving again and Arya closed her eyes in horror just knowing the wolf was going to wake the boy she was straddling.

She hissed in surprise when Gendry's hot hands ran up her bare thighs, seizing hold of her as he jolted awake.

"What are you doing?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Trying to get off you" Arya told him "I have to let Nymeria out."

Gendry nodded at her before he came fully awake when she wiggled on his groin trying to get her feet under her. His hands flexed subconsciously on her thighs and Arya felt the appendage beneath her harden even further as he woke fully and realised she was straddling him.

"Arya" he breathed, his cheeks darkening in the early morning light as he blushed, Baratheon blue eyes meeting hers with a gleam in them Arya had never seen before.

"Don't stare at me" She whispered "I have to stand to let her out and I'm not wearing britches."

She could swear she heard him groan even as his body jerked beneath hers. Arya bit her lip as a strange feeling like she'd missed a step going down the stairs shot through her at the way his body involuntarily bucked just the tiniest bit beneath her spread legs. Gendry stared at her, his hands still on her bare thighs, fingers subconsciously tracing strange patterns against her skin that gave her goose pimples.

"Close your eyes" she whispered to him, pressing her hands against his chest, meaning to lever herself to her feet that way. He smiled at her for a minute and Arya wondered what was wrong with her that she felt funny at the sight. Slowly he let his eyes drift closed and Arya pressed against him as she got to her feet. He held onto her ankles when she swayed precariously as though she might fall and Arya shivered at the loss of his warmth and body heat when the blankets fell away and the chilly morning air prickled her skin.

Walking to the end of the bed rather than risking clambering over Hot Pie and waking him too, Arya went to the door, unbolting it so the wolf could get out. She groaned when she realised that the village surrounding this Inn had all come in last night to gawk at them upon spotting the Direwolf, but wouldn't be used to seeing her and might attack her in shock. Especially if she went after their livestock for her breakfast. Before she opened the door, while Nymeria watched her expectantly, Arya turned and went back to her clothes, wrinkling her nose at the idea of putting them on again since they were so filthy.

"What are you doing?" Gendry murmured, watching her and looking concerned.

"If I just let her out she might kill livestock that belongs to people or someone might mistake her for a wild wolf and try to kill her. I'll have to go with her." Arya told him, wriggling into her britches before tucking her undershirt in and pulling her tunic and cloak on over the top.

"You can't go out there by yourself, it's still too early." Gendry told her and Arya watched him throw back the covers.

"I'm not some helpless girl" Arya argued with him.

"Not helpless no, but you're still a girl and if there's some rapist or murderer out there they'd love to catch you."

"What do you think Nymeria would do to them?" she asked him sarcastically, pointing to the monstrously sized wolf by the door.

"She'll be hunting down her breakfast in the woods so probably not much if you needed it until it might be too late." Gendry told her, tugging his tunic over his head. Arya gawked when his undershirt rode up to reveal his washboard stomach for a moment before disappearing beneath his clothing. He tugged his cloak on before glancing at her and seeing that she was looking at him strangely.

"What?" Gendry asked her.

"Nothing" Arya said, shaking her head even though he could probably hear her cursing under her breath about what an idiot she was to be noticing silly things about him like his stomach and his eyes, and what an idiot he was for insisting he accompany her just to let Nymeria out.

"Where are you going?" Hot Pie's voice asked them when the door creaked open.

"To let Nymeria out somewhere she won't kill people's livestock" Arya told him "You can go back to sleep a while longer if you want, or there's water if you want to bathe before we move on from this place."

Hot pie waved his hand at them noncommittally and Arya laughed as he rolled over and started snoring again.

Arya followed Nymeria, glancing at Gendry out the corner of her eyes, wondering why he'd not said anything about her straddling him.

"I'm sorry I was asleep on your chest" Arya blurted finally when the tension got the better of her. Gendry looked at her, surprised.

"Why are you saying sorry? I put you there" Gendry said, frowning in confusion.

"Oh…. I thought I must've woken up being squashed by you and Hot Pie and in my sleep climbed on top of you so you'd know what it was like to be squashed…"

Gendry laughed.

"Hot Pie came back to the room this morning, drunk, and wanted to sleep in the bed. Since I didn't feel like arguing with him to sleep on the floor, I moved over and so you wouldn't be crushed into the wall I put you on top of me. Gave me more room for my wide shoulders" he grinned at her.

Arya nodded in understanding, relieved she hadn't just climbed him in her sleep since that would be strange.

Nymeria had bounded away into the woods and Arya lounged against a tree, enjoying the cold morning. She glanced around in the low morning light of pre-dawn and felt her heart begin to pound with excitement when her eyes caught movement from the stables by the Inn.

"Gendry look" she pointed to the three horses hitched, still saddled in the stable. They bore the fine armour and saddlery of goldcloak steeds.

"Goldcloaks" he hissed, ducking closer to Arya since they'd come looking for him before and might still be. "What are they doing here?"

"More importantly, why would they leave their horses like that?" Arya asked him, smirking widely. "It's like they're inviting people to take them."

"Arya no" Gendry hissed when Arya whistled for Nymeria.

"Think of how much faster we'll get to Winterfell with horses. It's not like we can afford any, and I don't like stealing from poor farmers."

"So it makes more sense to take the horses belonging to the Kingsguard?"

"Yes, the only ones who would pursue us for it in these parts are the goldcloaks themselves and if we have their horses…."

"You know me and Hot Pie can't ride that well" he told her, frowning.

"You can ride well enough to put a fair distance between us and them, and if we stayed off the road, they'd never catch us before giving up." Arya told him.

"This is a bad idea" Gendry told her.

"Shut up. I need you to go back to the Inn and get Hot Pie. I'll meet you both on the far side of the village. It's so early we'd have a huge head start."

"How are you going to handle three horses when you've got a direwolf sniffing around?" Gendry argued in a whisper.

"She knows to stay back if the horses shy, she'll just have to trail us or stay wide of us. She's used to it. She used to do it all the time at Winterfell. Go and get Hot Pie. Hurry."

Gendry looked like he wanted to argue some more, but before he could, Arya began to stalk towards the stable. She'd learned a thing or two about stealing in her time and she knew the most important thing was to make it look as though she was meant to be there. Behind her Gendry strode off to the Inn.

The horses snorted as Arya unhitched them and she held the reins tightly as she led the three mares out of the stable and into the woods, moving at a brisk walk. She was hidden just off the road with the three horses when a confused and scared looking Hot Pie and grumpy looking Gendry came tearing up the road as they fled the village. Arya whistled to get their attention from amongst the trees and they veered towards her, slowing when the horses jostled slightly at their movements.

"That felt too easy" Gendry told her, taking the set of reins she handed him for the bay mare and climbing awkwardly into the saddle.

"I know. We'll have to ride hard to put some distance between us and them today." Arya told him, helping Hot Pie, holding his horse still while he climbed into the saddle of the horse looking concerned. He wasn't very good at riding, and was usually nervous and fidgety. When he was finally settled in the saddle Arya swung aboard her own mare, this one pure black all over, and she caught the way both Gendry and Hot Pie eyed her enviously for the ease and grace she had in the saddle.

"I know neither of you are all that confident but we need to make a lot of ground today, think you can keep up with me at a lope?" she asked them. She knew Gendry could, and that Hot Pie would probably be terrified.

"I don't think I can" he said.

"We'll stop often, and that mare will probably just keep up with ours so you'll mostly have to hang on when she gets going" Arya told him, having chosen the most docile of the three to give the boy.

"Couldn't we just keep walking instead of stealing from the goldcloaks and riding?" he protested.

"There's nine hundred miles by the King's road from the border of the North to Winterfell" Arya told him, "and this village is about a hundred miles south of the border. Do you really want to walk that far yourself?"

Neither boy protested again when they heard that. Arya showed them both how to nudge their horses into movement with their heels. Smiling at the feel of being in a saddle again as they loped off up the road, knowing it was early enough in the morning that they weren't likely to run into anyone on the road for a few hours at least, Arya felt better knowing that she'd be home in Winterfell again just a little bit sooner.

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><p>Seven days in the saddle with limited food since they'd been rationing what they bought back at the Rusty Mace Inn, and all three travellers were miserable. Hot Pie groaned that he was going to have a second hole in his arse and Gendry waddled whenever he got off his horse to take a piss.<p>

The horses, fit from regular exercise in the service of the goldcloaks didn't seem to mind the hard riding every day. Arya herself was stiff and sore, her thighs and arse aching for the leather of the saddle and the position of straddling that way all day. Unlike the boys her body was more accustomed to riding and so forgotten muscles were tightening and strengthening again, making it easier the longer they rode. She knew they were getting close now, having spied the looming form of Castle Cerwyn in the distance just before they'd stopped to make camp for the night. It was only a day's ride from Winterfell.

"We're almost there" Arya announced excitedly "I saw Castle Cerwyn in the distance. It's only a day's ride from Winterfell."

"Does that mean we can stop for food? I'm starving" Hot Pie complained even though Arya had got them two fat rabbits that were roasting over the fire.

"We have enough food to last one more day and then we'll be in Winterfell. Besides, I don't want to let them know I'm coming. I want to just ride into the main yard and surprise them all."

Hot Pie grumbled under his breath and went back to turning the rabbits on the spit. Gendry watched her over the flickering flames.

"We need more firewood to make the fire last the night" Hot Pie told them both when they both said nothing else and Arya smirked, knowing they had enough but knowing he liked to burn it hot because he and Gendry were feeling the chill of the North. In the last village they'd passed through Arya had stolen them all some warmer tunics and breeches, as well as heavier cloaks that the Southern ones they'd all been wearing since they left King's Landing.

"Come on" she nudged Gendry with her foot. He was still stiff from riding and Arya had to offer him a hand to get him to his feet when he hissed at his pulled leg muscles.

"If we get to Winterfell and you ever ask me to get on a horse again I'm going to hit you with my hammer" he told her grumpily.

Arya laughed, too excited about finally getting home to care that he was in a bad mood.

"You won't have to ride again unless you want to. If Father's home he'll talk to Mikken about letting you work in the forge to finish your training if you like…. Unless you'd rather go to the Wall and take the Black…."

"Since I'm already cold here, I'd rather not go any further North than necessary" Gendry told her and Arya felt happiness swell in her chest at the idea of him staying in Winterfell. Hot Pie would easily find himself a place in the kitchens, and Gendry would be welcome in Mikken's forge, she knew. She'd talk to the old Blacksmith herself if she had to, though she doubted she'd need to.

"You're excited aren't you?" He asked her a little while later, watching the way she had a bounce in her step and a smile on her face. It was even bigger than the one she'd worn when Nymeria came back to her.

"Yes. I've not seen my family in more than a year. They must be worried sick that they never heard from me… I should've sent a raven…"

"When we get there you really will be milady" Gendry said in a soft voice as he turned to peer at her through the gloom as evening fell.

"What?" Arya said suddenly, dropping her armload of firewood in surprise.

"Did you forget?" he murmured "Out here you're just Arya, but when we get to Winterfell…. You'll be milady Arya Stark, highborn daughter of a Lord. You'll have to give up those britches for a pretty dress and do your hair nice every day. Me and Hot Pie will only see you if you deign it and if you're permitted. It won't be us being friends no more, there it'll be that you're a lady and ladies don't associate with bastards."

Arya felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she looked up into his blue eyes. He was right in some ways, about the way they would be expected to behave and mother would no doubt try to force her back into a dress. Squaring her shoulders Arya resolved not to let them.

"You say that because you don't know what they used to call me" Arya said softly, "Mikken, the smith you'll get to work with… he always used to call me Arya Underfoot because I was always in the forge or the yard where the men were working or training the horses or teaching the boys to spar…. I was always getting in the way they'd say, always underfoot. You think that just because I'm a little older that I'm going to stop?"

Gendry gave her a soft smile.

"They're going to ask questions, you know" Gendry told her.

"What kind of questions?" she asked, frowning.

"Questions about what you've been doing travelling with two men for more several moons" Gendry said.

Arya bit her lip. She could just imagine the types of questions her mother would ask her about what she'd been doing with two boys…. Men, she thought, looking Gendry over and realising that he might've still been just almost grown boy when they'd left King's Landing, but now he was a man grown, with a beard covering his cheeks and chin, his broad chest deep and wide. She blushed as she realised that her lady Mother was going to ask her whether or not one of them, probably Gendry, had taken her maidenhead.

"There's not much for them to question" Arya shrugged dismissively.

"You're forgetting that I've seen you naked Milady," Gendry pointed out bluntly, his voice low.

Arya blushed again even as she stomped her foot "Don't call me that!"

"But I have to. It's good practice, since by this time tomorrow we'll be expected to call you that," Gendry told her seriously.

Arya stared at him for a long time, thousands of memories flickering through her mind.

The way people had treated Jon for being a bastard; the way mother and Septa Mordane always told her that one day she'd have to marry a lord; Father in King's Landing sitting with her when she was practicing her balance like Syrio said, telling her she'd one day marry a lord and rule her house, have sons who were knights and lords. Arya remembered the strange, concerned look he'd given her when she'd told him that wasn't going to be her life.

"Gendry" Arya said seriously, looking up into his face and wondering if he could see how much she'd come to care for him in the time they'd travelled together. "Don't ever call my milady. I don't care who says you have to or what stupid rules say it should matter that I'm highborn and you're not. Don't ever call me that. Promise me you won't be stupid and let them stop us from being friends."

Gendry stared back at her and Arya wondered what thoughts were going through his mind as his expression flickered. She flinched when he dropped his firewood and tugged her to him, wrapping his arms around her tight and squeezing her close as though he was afraid to let her go again.

"Promise me" Arya insisted, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face against his chest.

"I promise Arya" he murmured into her hair.

Arya didn't know how long they stood that way, clutching each other close in the growing darkness. Suddenly she didn't feel so good about going home after all.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope y'all are enjoying the story so far. Let me know what you think. I love reviews. Big thanks to those of you who review on chapter 1! Much Love. xx-Kitten.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

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><p>When Hot Pie finally began to snore, Gendry looked over at Arya. He knew he should be happy that soon they wouldn't have to travel anymore, that he'd get to work a forge again. That he'd be able to sleep and work inside where it was warm instead of in the gathering cold of the Northern winter. He knew he should be happy for himself and for Arya, who was finally going to get to see her family again after so long apart from them.<p>

He knew he should be happy about it, but he wasn't. He was miserable with the knowledge that soon he'd be treated like the bastard born boy he was once again. On the road with Arya and Hot Pie, they didn't treat him any different. Hot Pie was a bastard too so he knew what it was like, but not once had Arya ever treated him differently for it. She looked at him as though he was just another person and he knew that to her rank and birth status meant nothing.

He wondered how long that would last when she was back in her castle with her lordly family.

As he watched her, he wondered how much things would change tomorrow. Now, she lounged against Nymeria by the fire, dragging her hands through the wolf's fur. She stared into the flames lost in thought. She wore stained and soiled clothing, her britches and tunic stained dark with sweat, blood and dirt from the hard riding and from killing and skinning those rabbits she'd shot for them to eat. Her shoulder length hair hung lank and unwashed around her grimy face. She didn't seem notice it, and if she did, she didn't care. She looked pensive and relaxed, at home being dirty and smelly.

Gendry imagined in his mind what it might be like to see her dressed differently, bathed and clean every day, possibly wearing dresses though she often commented on how much she hated them. He wondered what her family would think of him, whether they would accept him and let him work in the forge at Winterfell; whether they would torture him to find out if he'd laid a hand on her; how they would like the idea of her still spending time with him when they were back in the real world where ladies didn't deign to even look at bastard born boys, let alone snuggle up with them or kiss them.

Feeling his eyes on her, Arya turned to look at him, cocking her head at him questioningly. Gendry just kept watching her for a little longer before holding his arms out towards her in the recognised signal he often used to offer her warmth if she wanted it. She smiled at him as she kissed Nymeria's nose before crawling over to him. Gendry sighed when she shuffled back on her arse in the dirt until she was sitting between his bent up knees, her body reclining back against his chest. He leaned back on one hand for balance, wrapping the other one across her stomach.

It felt good holding her against him and Gendry felt a strange ache in his chest at the idea that come tomorrow, she might never snuggle up next to him ever again. Resting his chin on the top of her head, Genrdy watched Nymeria crawl closer until the wolf was curled against his side and his leg, facing towards the fire. Arya chuckled, reaching over his thigh to pet the wolf.

"You're always so warm" she whispered to him after a little while and Gendry smiled in spite of his melancholy.

"Someone's got to be. You're too skinny to generate your own body heat."

"You're sad" she accused him, knowing his moods by now. "Why?"

Gendry sighed.

"Don't you want to come to Winterfell?" She asked him in a small voice.

"I do." Gendry told her "I want to work a forge and the steel again, to sleep inside where it's warm every night instead of out in the cold like this. To not have to go hungry all the time."

"Then why are you sad? We're almost there" Arya asked him. Gendry didn't answer, not knowing how to tell her that he was going to miss her and the way she treated him, that he was afraid the Arya he knew would be washed away like the grime on her face and replaced by a proper lady.

"Is it because of me?" Arya asked him finally and Gendry nodded, his chin bumping against the top of her head repeatedly.

"Ladies don't snuggle up to bastards like this when they get cold" He told her, squeezing her a little tighter.

"Good thing I'm not a lady."

"Highborns don't Arya. I'm a bastard. You're family are going to look down their noses at me as being nothing more than an errand boy who fetched you home."

"They won't" Arya argued "I've a bastard brother, Jon. He's gone to the Wall now, taken the Black, but that's because my mother never liked him…. It wasn't because he was a bastard. I think it was because he was a reminder that Father rode off to war and left her all alone in Winterfell. She wasn't used to the North and still doesn't like it that much. When he came home Father had Jon with him. Mother never let it go that he'd left her here and then went with another woman while they were away at War."

"It doesn't matter what they think of bastards Arya" Gendry told her "They won't like a bastard who's not related to you being anywhere near you."

"They're not stupid Gendry" Arya argued with him "They're not going to just drag me away and never let me see you again. Father will probably reward you and Hot Pie with anything you could want for bringing me home safely."

Gendry held his tongue before he could blurt something about not being given anything he might want when what he wanted was her, just like she was now, happy and free and allowed to do whatever she wanted, even if that might be snuggling up to a lowly bastard smith. They sat in silence after that and Gendry wished there was some way he could make the night last forever.

"Gendry?" Arya murmured much later when his eyelids had begun to droop with tiredness.

"Yeah?" he asked her.

"Do you remember the night Nymeria came back to me?" she asked him cryptically.

"What about it?" he asked her warily, aware of the fact that he'd kissed her that night.

"Why did you kiss me?" she asked him in a soft voice without looking at him. Gendry tensed.

"I don't know" Gendry admitted "I thought we were about to be killed and eaten by wolves."

Arya didn't say anything.

"I wanted to" he murmured finally "Just once before dying I wanted to kiss you."

He didn't say it, but he wanted to do it again now. He'd wanted to kiss her again many times since that first one and the closer they got to Winterfell the more he'd wanted to. Just one last time. Just in case.

"It felt nice" she whispered much later and Gendry felt himself smile.

"I'm going to miss you tomorrow" Gendry whispered in her ear.

"But you'll be with me" Arya said, confused.

"I will, until we get to Winterfell. Then you'll be with your family."

Arya was quiet for so long that Gendry thought she must've fallen asleep against him.

"But you're my family too" she told him and Gendry felt something inside him prickle painfully at her words. He'd never had a family and more than once on the road he'd thought that being with Arya and Hot Pie was what it must be like; dealing with their moods; caring if they were happy or cold or hungry; wanting to make sure they were safe.

Not knowing what to say at her acceptance and her declaration, Gendry leaned around and pressed a kiss to her cold cheek.

Or he tried to. Just as he did, she turned her head, meaning to look at him and instead of her cheek, his lips pressed against her lips. She made a soft sound, but she didn't pull away from him, kissing him back shyly.

Gendry felt his insides swoop at the sensation of her lips moving against his and when she wriggled in his hold he let her go, realising she was trying to turn around so she was facing him and not kissing him over her shoulder. When she turned and was sitting on her feet between his legs, she looked up at him and he knew she wanted to kiss him again but wasn't sure how to say so. Smiling at her gently, he leaned forward, bringing his hand up to cup her cheek. She leaned her face into his palm and Gendry marvelled at the fact that she was so comfortable and accepting of him. So trusting and unreserved.

When he moved in and brushed his lips over hers again, she kissed him back, this time less shy as she got used to the sensation. Gendry wrestled with the urge he felt to tug her against him and lay back with her splayed across his chest like she had been at the Inn. When she leaned into the kiss, bringing her hands up to rest against his chest, Gendry couldn't resist slipping his tongue into her mouth.

She flinched in surprise but quickly got the idea and Gendry had to clench his fists to keep from doing something stupid. The feel of her tongue against his and her hands moving up his chest and around his neck pulling him closer made his body roar to life and he fought against the same urge he'd had when he'd woken with her straddling his groin at the Inn.

Seven hells he wanted her. Wanted her so much that his cock was painfully hard inside his britches as his hands trembled with the effort it took not to pull her down and take her. When she slid her small hands into his messy black hair and she pressed herself closer Gendry was sure he was going to lose the battle. He kissed her like a starving man, knowing he might never get another chance to kiss his wild little she-wolf again.

When she pulled back to catch her breath her eyes were bright and she smiled at him happily, a blush creeping up her cheeks while he fought the urge to take her. It was physically painful for him to restrain himself, his body tight and aching with the need to lay her down here by the fire in the middle of nowhere and take her maidenhead. He wanted some part of her to keep as his forever. Leaning forwards, he laid his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.

"Don't ever change" He whispered before he could think better of it. "I know when we get to Winterfell you'll be a highborn lady again and I'll just be the smith, but I want you to always be like this."

"Like what?" Arya whispered. Gendry opened his eyes, Baratheon blue peering into Stark grey for several long minutes.

"Free" Gendry whispered "I want you to always be free. To think what you want and to do as you please…. Don't let them turn you into one of those simpering, silly highborn ladies who giggle about how handsome knights are and turn up their noses at bastards like me. Don't let them take that little sword from you and force you into a stupid dress. Just always be like this, unladylike and as wild as this wolf."

Nymeria yipped beside him as though she understood his words and agreed with him.

"They haven't managed to so far, and I'm not going to let them start now" Arya replied fiercely and Gendry felt his heart give a squeeze inside his chest, knowing that defiant look in her eyes.

"I hope you're right" he told her. "I s'pose we'd better get some sleep. We've got another day of that blasted riding tomorrow."

Arya laughed as he grumbled about the idea of getting back on his horse. She sat still while he rummaged around, trying to find a comfortable spot to lay to sleep, Nymeria got up with a huff too and watched him roll around until he was comfortable.

Gendry looked at Arya when he was stretched out comfortably on his side.

"Keep me warm tonight?" she whispered to him and Gendry smiled at her, lifting his arm and waiting for her to curl up against him, wrapping her up in his arms and holding her close for what might be the last time in his life. He smiled when he felt Nymeria settle herself down on his other side once her mistress was comfortable, her back pressed against his even as Arya rubbed her cheek against his bicep – which she was using as a pillow. Gendry knew he'd have a dead arm by morning but he didn't care.

As he laid there in the dark with a she-wolf pressed either side of him, one human and one direwolf, Gendry wondered what he'd done to have the gods bless him this way and if they would always be so favourable.

Just before he drifted off to sleep he heard Arya whisper to him

"Don't ever leave me."

Smiling into her hair and pulling her closer until her body pressed flush against him, he lifted his head to vow into her ear reassuringly,

"Never."

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><p><strong>AN: Hey guys, so I know it's set up to leave it there... I can't decide if I should write a few more chapters, or if I should just leave it here. What do you guys think? You want more? Let me know what you think I should do! Much Love. xx-Kitten.**


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